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Soccer Powerhouse Emerges From Pennsylvania Hills

Tera Furman/Messiah College AthleticsGeoff Pezon, front, after his goal in overtime gave Messiah College a 2-1 victory over Lynchburg and its third straight national title.

Messiah College (enrollment 2,900) has quietly built a Division III soccer dynasty in Grantham, Pa., about 10 miles southwest of Harrisburg.

The Falcons men’s team won its third straight N.C.A.A. title (and eighth in 11 years) on Saturday afternoon, a day after the women’s team played in the national semifinals for the seventh consecutive year. The women, however, fell short of winning their third straight title when their 76-game unbeaten streak was ended in the final by Hardin-Simmons University, 2-1, on Saturday night in San Antonio.

Earlier Saturday in the men’s final, also at the Blossom Athletic Center in San Antonio, Messiah (23-1) erased a 1-0 Lynchburg lead, tied the score with less than five minutes left in regulation and won the title on Geoff Pezon’s golden goal in overtime. Pezon was named the tournament’s outstanding player; he finished his collegiate career as one of only 15 players in Division III history to have at least 40 goals and 40 assists.

Coach Brad McCarty became the first soccer coach in N.C.A.A. history to win national titles in his first two years.

“How do we do it? It’s the intangibles,” McCarty said Monday in a telephone interview. “We have foundational principles and core values that allow us to have team chemistry. What we do is try and find kids who are a good fit, have a good heart and who want to be at a Christian school. Of course we want kids who are talented, and we get midmajor D-1 talent. Our overriding purpose is that we want to be the best place to play soccer in the country. But more than anything here, soccer is a complement to their overall education.”

The women’s team at Messiah (24-1) won titles in 2008 and ’09, and lost in the final in ’07 and this year. Over the past four years, the Lady Falcons had a 96-2-3 record and outscored their opponents by 427-28.

M.L.S.

Major League Soccer’s first re-entry draft will be held the next two Wednesdays. Created in the new collective bargaining agreement, the draft was designed to allow veteran players easier movement between teams after playing out their contracts or having their teams decline their options. In the past, the rights to players out of contract remained the property of their previous clubs.

The Red Bulls declined contract options on three players — Juan Pablo Angel, Luke Sassano and Carey Talley — and will probably look elsewhere to replenish a roster that has lost several players to retirement.

Last week, Erik Soler, the club’s sporting director and general manager, said the Red Bulls had rebuffed overseas advances for a handful of players, including Joel Lindpere, the team’s most valuable player. Soler said the Red Bulls would be buyers, not sellers, during the international transfer period that begins in January. He reiterated the club’s intention to sign the English striker Luke Rodgers and the Norwegian midfielder Jan Gunnar Solli. The club is also in the market for a goalkeeper who will cost less than the $150,000 made last season by the often erratic Bouna Coundoul.

“We want to keep the team, make the team stronger and win something,” Soler said. “We’re not in the selling mode. We don’t need money. We need good players.”

Soler has one designated-player slot to fill with the departure of Angel.

Notes

¶President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran hinted that Diego Maradona could be the next coach of Iran’s national team. Asked about published reports that Maradona would soon be hired, Ahmadinejad nodded his head during a ceremony honoring medal winners from the recent Asian Games.

¶Players from Barcelona monopolized the nominations for FIFA’s Ballon d’Or (or Golden Ball) award as the world player of the year. The three nominees are Andréa Iniesta, Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernández. The winner will be announced on Jan. 10.

¶Jamaica won the Caribbean Cup final on Sunday in Martinique, defeating Guadeloupe in a penalty-kick shootout. Red Bulls midfielder Dane Richards was named the top player in the tournament. The four semifinalists — Jamaica, Guadeloupe, Grenada and Cuba — qualified for the 2011 Concacaf Gold Cup, which will be played in the United States from June 5 to 25. The tournament winner will earn a berth in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil.

¶The United States under-17 national team finished the Nike International Friendlies tournament in Phoenix with a 1-1-1 record. The Americans defeated South Korea, tied Brazil and lost to the tournament champion, Turkey.

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Goal, The New York Times soccer blog, will report on news and features from the world of soccer and around the Web. Times editors and reporters will follow international tournaments and provide analysis of games. There will be interviews with players, coaches and notable soccer fans, as well as a weekly blog column by Red Bulls forward Jozy Altidore. Readers can discuss Major League Soccer, foreign leagues and other issues with fellow soccer fans.